Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 25
The US State Department continued to insist that there has been no delay to American arms shipment to Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his criticisms over the weekend.
Speaking during a weekly government meeting, Netanyahu said Sunday there had been a “dramatic drop” in the weapons pipeline to Israel.
“For many weeks, we appealed to our American friends to speed up the shipments. We did it time and time again. We did this at the senior echelons, and at all levels, and I want to emphasize — we did it in private chambers. We got all kinds of explanations, but we didn’t get one thing: the basic situation didn’t change,” he said.
“Certain items trickled in, but the bulk of armaments were left behind,” he added. “After months with no change in the situation, I decided to express it publicly.”
“I don’t understand what that comment meant at all in the same way that I didn’t understand the comments that we discussed last week when we heard them make similar claims,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
Just one shipment of high-payload munitions remains on pause pending a review prompted by concerns about civilian casualties, but Miller maintained that Washington continues to supply Tel Aviv with weapons “as we have done, going back years and years, because we are committed to Israel’s security.”
“There has been no change in that. So I’m not sure what those comments refer to,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Israeli premier criticized Washington for withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel. The White House responded by canceling a strategic meeting with Israel.
Source: Anadolu Agency
